Category Archives: trademark

Court makes the write choice on descriptive fair use

Posted on April 27, 2015 by rtushnet

Marketquest Group, Inc. v. BIC Corp., No. 11-cv-618 BAS (S.D. Cal. Apr. 17, 2015)   Marketquest website using All In One and The Write Choice marks Marketquest sued BIC for infringing its registrations for ALL-IN-ONE and THE WRITE CHOICE for, … Continue reading →

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Amazon doesn’t want you to know how to apply 1-800’s IIC rule

Posted on April 22, 2015 by rtushnet

SanMedica Int’l, LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. 13-cv-00169 (D. Utah filed publicly Apr. 15, 2015) The parties agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice on the day the redacted version of the opinion was released, so we won’t get more. … Continue reading →

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2(a) avoids First Amendment challenge, for now

Posted on April 21, 2015 by rtushnet

In re Tam, — F.3d –,  No. 2014-1203 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 20, 2015)   The Federal Circuit affirmed the refusal to register THE SLANTS for entertainment (a band) because it was disparaging, with “additional views” from one judge suggesting that … Continue reading →

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Territoriality is no bar to keeping up with the Kardashians in Kroma dispute

Posted on April 20, 2015 by rtushnet

Kroma Makeup EU, Ltd. v. Boldface Licensing Branding, Inc., No. 6:14–cv–1551, 2015 WL 1708757 (M.D. Fla. Apr. 15, 2015)   A foreign licensee of a US trademark sued US citizens for alleged infringement abroad, and sued its licensor for refusing … Continue reading →

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Campbell conference: ethical and strategic issues in fair use litigation

Posted on April 17, 2015 by rtushnet

Panel III. Ethical and Strategic Issues in Fair Use Litigation (Moderator, Professor Naeve)   Naeve: discuss ethics of parody, disparagement, use in pornographic work. Should you ask permission?   Lydia Loren, Lewis & Clark: for all its positive effects, she … Continue reading →

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Thermolife sues critic’s blog for cybersquatting

Posted on April 15, 2015 by rtushnet

A reader pointed me to this lawsuit, alleging cybersquatting against https://ronkramermusclebeach.wordpress.com/ based on Thermolife’s Muscle Beach marks.  You may notice that this isn’t really a domain name, but a blog hosted on WordPress.  In an in rem proceeding, will the court … Continue reading →

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Dogged determination: PTO corrects mistaken incontestability

Posted on April 14, 2015 by rtushnet

You can read the notice for the design mark here.  Following up on my previous bead dog related post. Also as a result, my children have learned how to make Mardi Gras bead dogs and leave them around the house. … Continue reading →

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Loked and loaded: are bag closures famous to the general consuming public?

Posted on April 13, 2015 by rtushnet

Schutte Bagclosures Inc. v. Kwik Lok Corp., 48 F. Supp. 3d 675 (S.D.N.Y. 2014)   Kwik Lok makes clips to close bags in the US, and Schutte does so in Europe and is seeking to expand to the US.  Schutte … Continue reading →

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No dog in this fight: PTO makes a cancelled mark incontestable

Posted on April 10, 2015 by rtushnet

Nola Spice Designs, LLC v. Haydel Enterprises Inc., No. 13-30918, — F.3d – (5th Cir. Apr. 8, 2015) Opinion below, rejecting trademark and copyright claims based on competing Mardi Gras bead dog designs. (And a reminder: sending a DMCA notice … Continue reading →

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court declines to dismiss hashtag infringement claim

Posted on April 8, 2015 by rtushnet

Fraternity Collection, LLC v. Fargnoli, 2015 WL 1486375, No. 3:13–CV–664 (S.D. Miss. Mar. 31, 2015)   Fraternity Collection designs and sells shirt, including the “Pocket Shirt,” a custom article of clothing in which customers pick a particular style of shirt … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, dastar, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, secondary liability, tortious interference, trademark | 1 Comment